You Led Me Here: A Collection of Richonne Stories
by cranesinthesky
Summary: A collection of short stories and one shots featuring Rick and Michonne
1. July 2017 Flash Fic Challenge

**A ficlet I wrote for the Richonne Just Desserts July 2017 Flash Fic Challenge on Tumblr. I chose the prompt Eyelid Kiss**

Title: Never Gonna Let You Go

Rating: K

Prompt used: Eyelid kiss

Author's Name: cranesinthesky

* * *

Rick was awakened by the gentle movement of Michonne sleeping beside him, feeling the bed shift as she nestled closer towards him. He opened his eyes and was greeted by her beautiful face, her skin practically glowing underneath the soft sunlight peeking through the curtains of the window. She was sleeping a few inches away from him lying on her side, so close he could feel her breath on his face.

She had been through so much. After spending a couple of days in the infirmary to heal from her injuries, she was finally back home, safe in his arms and their bedroom. The swelling in her face had gone down and the dried blood had been washed away. The only thing that remained were the aches and pain the bruises around her eyes.

He reached out to trace his finger along one of the bruises. Anger boiled in the pit of his stomach as he thought of how Jadis' betrayal led to this. He had almost lost Michonne. He had assured her days ago that if something were to happen, they both would have to go on and to help the communities. But seeing her against that wall after the fight with the saviors and scavengers, fighting for her life and the future of the communities, he realized that he couldn't do it. He couldn't lose her now that he had her.

She stirred at his touch and took one long deep breath before resuming her steady flow of breathing, her body still refusing to wake up just yet. He gently brushed a loc out of her face, his fingers lingering against her smooth skin. Having her here next to him was everything and he vowed to keep her in that rightful place to be his partner. His confidant. His love. She wasn't going anywhere.

He pulled himself in closer to her, wrapping his arm around her protectively. He kissed her bruises. She was still beautiful through her battle scars. The last kiss he placed upon her was on her eyelid, a sign of protection and affection. He would do whatever it took to keep her safe. He was never going to let her go.

 _Author's Note: Prompt takes place after episode 7.16. Title taken from Tamia's "Never Gonna Let You Go."_


	2. September 2017 Flash Fic Challenge

**A flash fic that I wrote for the September 2017 challenge for the Richonne Just Desserts** tumblr **page. I chose the prompt 'Yellow'. Enjoy!**

Title: look at the stars, look how they shine for you

Rating: K

Prompt used: Yellow

She was a vision in yellow.

Rick could barely keep his eyes off of the unfamiliar yet angelic face of the woman standing on the other side of the room. He had spotted her as soon as he had walked into the small, intimate gathering just an hour earlier and it was like she was the only one in the room. She was talking with a friend, her laughter filling the spacious room and her smile brightening his day like the stars lit up the night sky. Her sleeveless yellow dress hugged her body perfectly. Her long dark locs were pulled back away from her face with a yellow headband, showing off of her beautiful features.

He did not know her, but he made it his goal tonight to get to know her.

Yet, he couldn't move his feet. He stood planted in his spot across from his friend, Glenn, who was babbling away about his upcoming nuptials to his soon to be wife, Maggie.

"Rick?" Glenn waved his hand in front of his Rick's face. "Hey, man, you in there?"

Rick snapped back to reality, his eyes peeling away from the ethereal beauty and to his friend's mischievous smirk. "What? Yeah, I'm fine. What were you saying?"

"I was saying that you'll be paired with Michonne tomorrow during the ceremony," Glenn said, nodding his head towards the woman. "She's a friend of Maggie's. New to the town. I think you'll like her."

"Michonne," Rick repeated lightly. It was different, but still beautiful nonetheless.

As if she had heard him say her name, her gaze drifted to him and their eyes locked. Her lips were still curved into a small smile and her long, delicate fingers were wrapped around the champagne flute in her hand. Her eyes scanned his body, settling on his lips for a few seconds before she looked up back at his eyes. With a coy look on her face, she nodded towards the porch.

Rick watched as she set her drink onto a nearby end table and escaped through the double doors that led to the porch. He excused himself from Glenn, doing the same and following her.

He found her standing against the railing, her back towards him as she looked up at the tiny dots of stars. He slowly made his way towards the spot beside her. He placed his hand on the railing, only inches away from hers and it took everything in him not to touch her.

"We don't see the stars in the city," she said softly, her eyes still looking upward. "It's beautiful out here. Quiet and calming."

"I'm pretty sure they're shining for you," Rick said in a low and slow voice.

She looked over at him then, a hint of surprise and curiosity filling her features. She smiled, sending chills down his spine for the fiftieth time that evening, his own smile mirroring hers.

Remembering his goal for the night, he held out his hand. "I'm Rick Grimes. You must be Michonne."

She accepted, the smile never leaving her lips. "Nice to meet you, Rick."

 **A/N: fun fact: I was listening to "** Yellow" by **Coldplay when I received the prompts for this month's challenge and figured it was the perfect fit ;) Thanks for reading!**


	3. That'll Be the Day

A random ficlet that is based on a scene from another favorite show of mine, "This is Us." Random, I know, but I had to write it out. Enjoy!

* * *

 _Super Bowl Sunday- 11:55 pm_

Michonne's hands tightly clutched the steering wheel of the SUV, her face stoic as she drove down the dimly lit street of the utterly quiet neighborhood. For the first time ever, she didn't want to go home. Didn't want to face the reality of what had gone down. She felt like she was in a trance, lost in translation as she tried to make sense of the events that had occurred just hours earlier.

 _It had all happened so fast,_ she thought. One minute she was in bed with Rick by her side and their children safe and sound in their rooms down the hall. The next they were all fighting to stay alive.

But Rick… he had saved them. Got them all out in one piece. He used to joke back during their dating days that he would be her knight in shining armor, but it turned out that he was right. He would hate to hear her say it and would stop her before the words even left her mouth, but he was their hero.

Her jaw clenched as tears started to form in her eyes and the road in front of her blurred for a brief second. She harshly wiped at them, refusing to let herself break down now. The pressure to grieve had been building up inside of her for the better part of the night, but she couldn't afford to break down in front of her teenage kids; they needed her. She had spent the last few hours consoling them as they sat in the hospital waiting room, shocked and confused, promising them that everything would be okay.

Truth was, she wasn't even sure if she believed her own words.

The car slowed and she pulled up in front of the familiar red mailbox that stood on the edge of their perfectly trimmed yard complete with the house number and _Grimes_ spelled out across the side of it. Rick had built it and set it up about six months ago, the small object just one of the many projects that he had taken on to keep his hands busy these days.

The sight of it made her lip quiver and the tears that had threatened to pour earlier pushed their way through now, spilling down her cheeks and onto her Atlanta Falcons jersey.

She felt a range of emotions inside of her- confusion, anger, sadness, but most of all she felt helpless. Helpless that she was not able to tell her children what their futures held. Helpless that she couldn't save their belongings. Helpless that she could have saved Rick before he...

A sound escaped from her throat that she didn't recognize- a gut-wrenching sob that seemed to break through the trance and take over her body as she finally looked over at the charred black house that was once their safe place. Their family home, the one Rick had built with his own two hands for them, was no longer recognizable after it had been devoured by the orange flames.

She so tried to believe the words that she had muttered to her children, but as she sobbed over the steering wheel, she knew she was wrong- _everything was not going to be okay_.


	4. Emotions

A RJD ficlet I wrote for their alphabet series. I had the letter E.

* * *

 _Emotions_

Michonne stared at the text message again as her Uber driver spoke to her from the front seat. She had been talking since Michonne had gotten into the car about twenty minutes ago and it seemed like she wasn't going to stop anytime soon. She would glance at her through the rearview mirror, her cheerful voice filling up the silence in the car. A cheerful voice that was way too cheerful for seven o'clock in the morning.

But Michonne tuned her out, her eyes scanning over the same text message that she had read when she first stepped into the car. She had received it shortly after she had gotten off of her flight and it took everything in her to not turn back around and jump on the plane back to Georgia.

" _I don't expect you to say it back to me, but I thought I would let you know."_

Michonne shook her head, still trying to wrap her head around it all. This had to be a joke, she thought. But then again, Rick wasn't the one to joke around like this.

" _I haven't quite forgiven myself over this and I completely understand if you don't feel the same way. I'm sorry to do this to Shane and to you."_

She closed her eyes at the mention of her ex-boyfriend. She wondered if he already knew.

" _These quiet thoughts of you have been going on for years now, but I always set them aside because I didn't want to interfere with our friendship or my friendship with Shane. But seeing you this past weekend, walking down the aisle during Maggie and Glenn's wedding- it did something."_

She let out a shaky breath as she thought back to Friday night, how she was unable to tear her eyes away from an extremely handsome Rick in that suit during the reception. She was guilty just as much as he was- eyeing her ex-boyfriend's best friend on the other side of the room.

" _It made me realize of how much you meant to me. How every time you come around, it's like a part of me comes alive again. I don't expect you to say it back and I completely understand if we can't resume our friendship after this. Please, just hear me out for one second."_

The driver turned down a familiar street. She eyed Michonne in the mirror again, noting the way that tears had fallen down her beautiful, brown cheeks. She reached into the glove department and pulled out a tissue to pass back to her.

Michonne thanked her. Wiping her face, she turned her attention back to her phone.

" _I love you."_

"Ma'am?" The driver turned in her seat, her eyebrows raised in concern as she looked back at Michonne. "Is this your stop?"

They were parked outside of Michonne's apartment building, rain falling steadily down against the busy city.

"Yes," Michonne said before she could think straight. "Actually, no. Can you, uh, take me back to the airport, please?"

The lady frowned, confused at the sudden change of direction. "Are you sure?"

Michonne glanced at her phone, a small smile pressing on her lips. Rick had taken a leap of faith, so she would too. She had to see him and let him know that she felt the same. "Yes. I'm sure."


	5. Alone Together (Valentine's Day)

Happy Valentine's Day to all of my fellow Richonners! Just a quick ficlet of our favorite couple. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Michonne knew this was a bad idea.

She considered leaving for the millionth time that night. She thought about walking to her car, driving back to her townhouse and sitting on her living room couch to watch Netflix with a bowl of chocolate ice cream. That was her original plan for Valentine's Day- to be alone, single and free of a relationship for the first time in three years.

Instead, she found herself sitting alone in the corner of the local coffee shop, a mug of lukewarm coffee in front of her. Other fellow single people- men and women- socialized around her, laughing and recalling stories of past relationships and whatever else went on in their everyday lives. They were all smiling and drinking their coffee, enjoying the company of others who were also alone with no significant other on this commercial holiday.

Michonne sighed as she took a sip of coffee. It was her best friend Sasha's idea to attend the "Alone Together" gathering at the local coffee shop, seeing as how both women had gone through recent breakups and needed a pick-me-up. Coffee, the town's famous chocolate chip cookies and gossip sessions rounded out the perfect girls night out.

The plan fell through, however, when Sasha was called in to cover someone's shift at the fire station. So much for being alone together.

She glanced at her watch, her high heels tapping impatiently on the tiled floor. With ten minutes past 8 pm, it was time to call it a night. She had to be at the hospital early the next morning for work and did not want to waste another minute of her time here alone. She had things to do, goals to conquer and hanging out in the middle of a coffee shop at a still decent hour was not going to accomplish anything.

She reached for her cell phone and was just about to text Sasha her update when a movement a few feet away caught her eye.

She looked up to see a tall, lean man walk into the shop, his strikingly blue eyes taking in the sight around him. He looked hesitant and, to be honest, a little scared as he stood in front of the door. Michonne recognized that look and instantly knew what he was thinking- he wanted to go home, too.

Intrigued, she couldn't peel her eyes away from him as she watched him walk towards the counter to order a coffee. He was dressed in a pair of jeans and a white button-down shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, showcasing his beautiful forearms. His brown curls were neatly cut and his beard was trimmed short. Her gaze swept from the top of his head all the way down to his feet, where she smiled at the mostly worn brown boots he wore. They had obviously seen better days.

In other words, the man looked good. Damn good.

When he turned in her direction, she quickly looked away, directing her attention to look out of the window. She placed an elbow on the table and rested her head on her hand, forcing herself to keep her gaze on the people passing by on the street. With her other hand, she slipped her phone back into her purse. She guessed she could stay just a few minutes longer.

"Is this seat taken?" a heavily accented voice asked. She could already guess who it was.

She looked up and felt her cheeks grow warm; her guess was right. The mysterious man stood on the other side of the table with a steaming hot cup of coffee in his hand, his gaze friendly and his smile sweet as he waited on her answer.

Her breath caught. He was even better looking up close.

"Help yourself," Michonne gestured. A quick glance around the shop showed that she was the only one with a spot open at her table. What a coincidence.

"I'm Rick," he said, holding out his hand. She took it, her smooth palm against his calloused hand. "Rick Grimes."

"Michonne," she said, smiling back at him. "It's very nice to meet you."

Yeah, she could stay for a few minutes longer.


End file.
